This amazing live session captures a truly unique Bon Iver performance, featuring Justin Vernon and Sean Carey. On recent tours fans will have become accustomed to seeing Vernon flanked by an eleven-piece band, with the swell in numbers lending a grandiose element to even his most delicate songs. Sidestepping expectations, the idea Vernon presented for this session was to provide a wildly different experience.

It was recorded in AIR Studio’s Lyndurst Hall and is a spectacular thing to witness. Bon Iver is slowly getting more noticed in the mainstream after winning a Grammy and being nominated for Brit awards in 2012. We do know however that Bon Iver have had a loyal and dedicated fan base for many years and deserve a bit of the spotlight!

Track listing:
1. Hinnom, TX
2. Wash.
3. I Can’t Make You Love Me
4. Babys
5. Beth/Rest

If you haven’t heard of Gotye and his massive song Somebody That I Used To Know featuring Kimbra then where have you been?! It was number 1 in 12 countries and become even more popular after an unsigned Canadian band, Walk Off The Earth, did a cover of it which went viral on Youtube. Their version involved five people playing one guitar.

Since then I have heard a number of covers of the song, which people have been able to make into their own style. I want to compile the best versions out there and need your help! Let me know on Milky Tea Kid’s Facebook or Twitter page or comment below on the post and I will update the blog with the versions we like!

Gotye feat. Kimbra

The Original (quite possibly the best version)

Walk Off The Earth

(The most well known cover)

Rita Ora – Radio 1 Live Lounge

I do believe this man is on course for some big things and I don’t doubt there will be some great soulful tunes coming our way as well. He has such a mellow voice and I love the smoothness of it too. I like him, a lot. Anyway, enough about that! His debut album is released on 12th March you can pick up a copy of Home Again here.

“I just wanted to make a record that, when someone puts it on, it takes them to a certain place,” says the 24-year-old north Londoner. “I wanted it to have the lush-sounding instrumentation and feel of older records, to be warm and peaceful and put the listener in this little world, which is rich with vibes and sounds and colours.”

Jessie J did what she does best on Radio One’s Live Lounge earlier today. One of the most talked about pop stars at the moment showed off her vocal skills on acoustic version of Domino and a cover of Rihanna’s hit, We Found Love. You probably guessed we are fans of Jessie J here on Milky Tea Kid, but it’s because she was amazing live when we first saw her and she is even more impressive now. Check out the videos below and see for yourself!

The Rescues are not a new band, nope they have been making music since 2008. They are a group of four multi instrumentalists and singers who often make use of four part harmonies. I only heard about them after hearing their track Heart With You in the background during a dramatic love scene in a TV show. The song was so good that I have no idea what happened in that scene at all! It is a great acapella song and their voices are stunning together. Why has it taken so long for me to discover them?!

The other night most of the world watched the Grammys and we all knew Adele would win an award or two, but we didn’t know she would win all 6 awards that she was nominated for, including Album of the Year! She also performed at the event, her first after her operation on her throat last October. Without a doubt she is back on top form and proved it to everyone, receiving a standing ovation at the end of it.

Adele has been quoted in US Vogue magazine saying, ‘I am f***ing off for four or five years. If I am constantly working, my relationships fail. So at least now I can have enough time to write a happy record. And be in love and be happy.’

That’s fair enough, just don’t be gone too long!

If you enjoyed that then I can’t recommend this enough! Get yourself a copy of Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall.

First off I really hope their name is from the book ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ because that will make them cool instantly! Mr Tom are a new band who I think are likely to be making an impression on people come festival season this year. The band are clearly influenced by the “rhythms of Foals and the guitar-pop of Two Door Cinema Club, and their debut single Feet Hit The Floor is a hook-laiden introduction to one of the most exciting new bands the UK has to offer.” I think that is an understatement I think… what’s better than ‘most exciting new band’? Whatever it is, that is what this band are!

Oh and if you like the sound of the single Feet Hit The Floor then you will definitely like the sound of the FREE download they have made available called Forget What Your Mother Said. Enjoy!

Charlene Soraia is known to many as the girl who sang Wherever You Will Go on the Twining’s advert, which in it’s own right was a great and very popular cover. But many are not aware of her insane talent on the guitar! I therefore shall inform you that she is really rather good. Check out our interview and session with Charlene Soraia last year for more evidence!

There is a live session of her performing a new track that does not feature on her debut album Moonchild. It is called Animal and really highlights her ability in songwriting, guitar playing and singing. Watch it below and make sure you get a copy of Moonchild!

Allow me to introduce a cool London trio called Flash Fiktion who make some very catchy synth pop music. I have had a sneaky listen to their album which is out in March and it is full of danceable pop tracks with hooks galore. I like the fact that the band recorded the album by themselves saying, “We have done most of the recording without the help of studio producers. We’re not fans of working by committee!” I won’t compare them to any other band but take a listen to the track in the video below and see for yourself why I think they might do quite well this year!

Young Astronaut release their debut album Fawn as a free download for everyone and anyone. The ten track LP demonstrates a “fusion of acoustic, folk and indie with lyrical content ranging from eternal innocence to sofa surfing to a love story between an artist and a villain.”

The resulting record is an emotionally charged debut from Young Astronaut, blending influences from English night folk to post-grunge with a maturity and finesse that falls somewhere between Ben Howard, Frank Turner and a young Radiohead.

Have a listen to the album below and if you like what you hear then head over to their website and collect your free download! www.youngastronaut.co.uk

New live dates confirmed for the band below:

09th Feb: On The Rocks, Bournemouth
15th Feb: The Anvil, Bournemouth
21st March: The Good Ship, London

I was wondering where Marina & The Diamonds had got to, I figured she was out in the US making a move out there but we got word that she is back! All we have for you is a new promo shot for the upcoming single… keep your eyes open!

If you are a fan of country/blues artists like the Civil Wars and The Secret Sisters then you should take a listen to Lucette. She recently supported The Secret Sisters at Union Chapel in Islington, London and blew the audience away with her performance. That venue always adds something special to the atmosphere as well, it’s one of my favourites. She has a sultry, laid back way of singing that draws you into the song even more, well worth a listen. Check out her single Baby I Want You Home.

“Creating music just comes naturally to me,” she says, when asked to reflect on the experience. “There’s not a day that I don’t feel like sitting down at the piano and singing.”
As Lucette recalls, “I used to get made fun of for carrying a tin Elvis lunch box to school. Other girls wanted Barbies; I wanted Blue Suede Shoes.”

“It’s like someone holding a gun to your head and forcing you to lay an egg every week”.

In 2012 Frank Hamilton plans to record and release 52 songs – one a week, for the whole year. Conflicting with the music business norm of releasing an album every two years, yet embracing the fast moving pace of the internet generation.

Hamilton is a cult hero, whose unique and intimate brand of folk-pop has found its way into the hearts of many up and down the country from Chris Evans to Daniel Radcliffe. (Harry Potter likes him, not bad to have on your CV) Not heard of him? Well his first record, You Your Cat & Me cost just £800 to make and market and has sold over 10,000 copies to date, prompting unconditional love from XFM and mass support from Edith Bowman, Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens at the BBC. (Also not bad to have on your CV!)

Each song is accompanied by a wonderfully honest blog that manages to be both fractious and endearing, and as of February we’ll also be treated to a weekly podcast. As with Hamilton’s latest tour, policy is mostly being shaped by fans themselves who used Facebook and Twitter to decide that tracks should be available for download using the ‘pay what you want’ method.

It is quite an ambitious project to say the least, a kudos to him for publicly declaring he is doing it, therefore making it harder to give up! If you want to follow the story and get the tracks each week visit www.onesongaweek.co.uk.

It’s ideas like this that make artists stand out in the saturated online world these days. Let’s see more of this!

Well known for their inventive one take music videos, OK Go have done it again with their video for Needing/Getting. Made in partnership with Chevrolet, naturally they set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they’d play the right note no matter where they were struck. For more information and behind-the-scenes footage, see www.LetsDoThis.com and www.okgo.net.

Check it out! A new beautifully animated video to Bombay Bicycle Club’s new single How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep. It was created by animator Anna Ginsburg and took six months to build and film and is made even more personal by the fact that Anna also went to school with the band.

Click here to view a Making-of Blog for the video: http://bicyclesonthemoon.tumblr.com/